Harlan Ellison has passed away at the age of 84, and for those of you whose sphere of knowledge doesn't go far past dead comedians, he was a damn good writer, one of the best fantasists in speculative fiction and a great commentator on the times in which he lived.

If you don't know him, hit amazon and get one of his books, I recommend DEATHBIRD STORIES or STRANGE WINE for his fiction, or for his non-fiction, AN EDGE IN MY VOICE, or his two volumes on television, THE GLASS TEAT and THE OTHER GLASS TEAT. Just grab any of his books and you'll start reading them all.

He was also a great television guest, he and Tom Snyder used to keep THE TOMORROW SHOW entertaining and interesting, here's one good example from 1975:

Knew him slightly, got to hang out with him a time or two, I remember once making him smile by telling him that he's the only writer I knew of who wrote for both Buster Keaton and Lenny Bruce, "You're right", he said, "and I wrote for Lenny first!".

A great, cranky, voice of reason, something too rare these days to lose any we have. If you can truly rest Harlan, rest in peace...